He That Is Of A Merry Heart Hath A Continual Feast

Every morning like clockwork, Fran would arrive fifteen minutes late to work.  When her coworkers would greet her with, “Good morning Fran,” she would reply, “What’s so good about it?”  The very act of breathing was a monumental task for her.  Not in reality; it was just her disposition and outlook.  Everything always went wrong and life never gave her any breaks.  Everyone else was always, “the lucky one.”  No doubt she must have come from an abusive background; but instead of leaving it in the past and going forward, she allowed her past to define her present and then seal her future.

We have all known of people like Fran.  They believe that the world is out to get them.  If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong.  They never get any breaks, life is continually tough on them and they can never seem to get ahead.  It is always someone else’s fault.  They tend to be jealous and envious of practically everyone.  One thing is for sure; they are very unhappy people, void of any joy.

If you tend to be this way or if you don’t want to be this way; then how do you change or prevent falling into such a hopeless cycle?  God’s Word always has the answers.

First of all, let’s realize that God has given us a large spectrum of emotions; and there are times to be unhappy or sad.  Solomon wrote that there is a season, or time for everything.

“A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4).

Author Rhonda Byrne’s book, The Secret, sold millions of copies by basically expounding on a Bible principle; our thoughts make or break our lives. 

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee” (Proverbs 23:7.

We have thousands of thoughts every day.  How can we control our thoughts?  Her answer was to be mindful of our emotions.  If we are allowing ourselves to be angry and bitter or sad and moody; this is going to bear the fruit of negative consequences.  Success can’t grow in such toxic soil.  We will all face things in life that will bring us down, but we should not allow those moments to define our lives.

For me, mornings are great; they are a fresh new start every 24 hours.  It is like a new lease on life.  Martin Luther preached and wrote about how sleep is like a little death and every morning is like the resurrection.  This connects with my way of thinking.  Mornings have always been joyous time.  As a child, my parents didn’t allow moodiness.  They where very insistent on this and made it clear, saying; “You can come to breakfast happy; with a spanking or without; your choice!”  This was probably a bit extreme, but it did get results.

A classmate who reconnected with me back in June said, ”I remember you as always happy - has that changed?”  Praise the Lord for my parents’ teaching.  The following scripture were seared into my heart and mind from infancy.

“For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalms 30:5)

“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (Proverbs 15:13)

“All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast” (Proverbs 15:15).

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bone” (Proverbs 17:22).

No one can always be happy 100% of the time, but the joy that comes from the Lord, the joy that is the Lord; the joy that lives in us because we are the temple of the Holy Ghost; that joy should be our witness to the world!

Prayer:  Father of joy, let your peace reign in my life and give me a happy heart; living in happy holiness.  I have everything to look forward to; there is nothing that can steal my joy and happiness in the Lord, in you Jesus!  Fill my heart with the joyous  hope of the Gospel; let it beam from me as a beacon on a hill, in Jesus’ name, Amen!